Hangover of Halloween

Originally a Pagan holiday, so much Celtic history is rooted in ‘All Hallows Eve’, as a night where the dead could roam amongst the living. As not all these roaming spirits had good intentions, the Celts gave offerings up to appease their evil intents.

As I carved out my pumpkin on my tod on Sunday, I thought to myself how bizarre this whole weekend had been. There was definitely something in the air. Aside from the Draculas dancing next to Clowns and ‘sexy’ witches snogging human pumpkins at parties, I mean.

This something I seemed to sense came more from the ‘evil’-intentioned living than the dead. Everyone I encountered seemed hot-headed, confrontational and ready for an argument. I figured that this was most definitely not the work of mischievous spirits, but something far more down to earth.  

The Halloween I saw this weekend (I’m now talking about the Clowns and human pumpkins) seemed to be farcical and over-hyped – entertaining the idea that evil and darkness can be fun and on this one special night is allowed to be taken lightly. I am by no means a grumpy old woman (I promise – I even made a wicked pumpkin) but this kind of Halloween with children knocking on doors begging for sweets, feels a far cry from the pagan’s rather reverent offering of gifts out of respect to their dead.

Had the obsession with all things dark and evil turned people into little bundles of negativity? OK, perhaps that’s a BIG generalisation. But negativity does breed more negativity.

You can call me the Halloween-Scrooge, but I hope that by celebrating new cycles, like Samhain - the Celtic New Year, it will mentally, cosmically and any-other-way shift some of the hangover of this year’s Halloween.